Brand New Love
by Wingless Night
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto hates holidays like Christmas, mainly because of the “family”ness of the holiday. Being slightly like a Grinch, will Naruto realize that sometimes… your family doesn’t have to be your blood? SasuNaru. Shonen Ai


_**Ranting**: Thank you to all of those who reviewed I Surrender. I was surprised that I got such a response out of it. I didn't like it at the beginning, but after rereading it I like it. This could be seen as a sequel to it. I don't know. Instead of using a Celine Dion Song, I'm using one of my favorites. . _

_Um… yeah, this will kinda be separate but tying in with I Surrender, which is why it's a separate fic. Hmm, I just found the perfect name to describe all of this (for there will be more… mwa haa haa)_

_This entire thing is now dubbed… _**"Kyuubi-kun's Naruto Holiday Series"**

_((looks around at all the people staring.)) Oh shush and let me have my fun, dammit. Anyways, here's the 2nd Installment. For future reference, the Third Installment will be Valentine's Day, hopefully. I'll see if I can get my ass around to writing it. _

_One more thing. The only reason that I am using Christmas is because it's the most wellknown holiday and what have you. I really don't know what Christmas is about… but I do know my own holiday, which lies on the same day – Yule. So, I'll try and remember Christmas stuff but if I'm wrong, then here's my disclaimer_

_**Summary**: Uzumaki Naruto hates holidays like Christmas, mainly because of the "family"ness of the holiday. Being slightly like a Grinch, will Naruto realize that sometimes… your family doesn't have to be your blood?_

_**Warnings**: Shounen Ai, SasuNaru, OOC, um… language… and that's all I can think of. _

**Brand New Love**

Snow fell softly towards the ground from the cloudy skies above Konohagakure. Many villagers had displayed merchandise bought from stores about the holidays they worshipped. It was a yearly celebration: Midwinter's that is. For each year, six or seven different religions would gather together and realize that they don't care for differences – at least, not at this time of the year.

So they drink, bless everyone and then drink some more. A yearly occurrence.

Or at least, that's was those without families did.

Those who had families would make the holiday a big thing. They would invite relatives from everywhere to their houses and tell them to stay for a while, where every night there would be a party and every day was spent laughing and caroling and talking with people that they had not seen since last winter.

Only few did not participate in either of these activities, but those few didn't know that there were others that were alone out there. Uzumaki Naruto was one of these people.

He was sixteen, having turned that age only two months earlier. Blonde hair cascaded past his chin in wild sunshine locks. His bright blue eyes were narrowed from the cold that seeped through the dingy windows of his apartment. These eyes had attracted many to him, and had seen much for him. They were of the deepest blue, like the sea, but also held the reflection of the summer sky in them.

If this holiday had been _before_ his birthday in October, then Naruto would have been wearing a bright orange suit that he was so well-known for. He would have been loud, obnoxious and disgustingly cheerful. He had hated himself for that mask – but to lose a mask was even worse than wearing one.

Yet his teammates and sensei had been noticing a slight change in the blonde's character since the tenth of October. He no longer yelled out idiotic things. He would often brood, quietly.

Naruto smirked at his pale reflection in the window glass as he pulled out a Newport cigarette from his pocket and a lighter along with it. After several tries, he managed to get the lighter lit and pulled it up to the end of his cigarette. The stick lighted, and Naruto pocketed the firestarter, taking a deep drag of his nicotine.

He could remember the first time that he had pulled a cigarette out in front of Kakashi and Sakura – for Sasuke had already seen the cigarette that he had in his apartment on his birthday.

_Naruto and Sasuke had been fighting. Ever since both of them had "personality changes" as the others had noticed that both were a lot more quiet, a little less rude, and a lot closer, their speed had picked up, and their fights were even more interesting to watch. _

_Naruto was thrown, punched down by Sasuke after he had jumped off the tree he had previously been on. He had flown towards the ground at a rapid rate. Even Kakashi was worried as he watched Naruto fly faster and faster, speed increasing every second. _

_When the blonde finally hit the ground, both Kakashi and Sakura winced at the sound of the impact. Dust flew everywhere. From inside the cloud, they could hear muttered frustrated curses. _

_The dust cleared. Naruto was sitting up. He looked around nonchalantly before pulling the pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and a cheap match packet. Putting the filter of one of his "happy sticks" in his mouth, he lit the other end and breathed in, exhaling the smoke a moment later. _

_Kakashi and Sakura just stared at him, shocked. Naruto shoved the matches and pack back into his pocket as he slowly stood up. He cracked his neck and back before going back to his cigarette. _

_Sasuke appeared out of nowhere. "You do realize that the fight isn't over, right?" the Uchiha had growled. _

"_Fuck off," was Naruto's reply. "I'm busy living happily ever after."_

"_In what fairy tale?" had been the inquiry he was given._

"_Oh you know, the one where I get to fuck a hot chick all night long and then have a huge bowl of ramen in the morning, topped with an unlimited supply of Newport 100s."_

"_In otherwords, the usual one, neh?"_

_Naruto grinned. "Precisely."_

_Sakura stomped over to Naruto and while he wasn't looking, she grabbed the cigarette out of his hand and threw it on the ground, smashing it with her foot. _

_When Naruto realized what had happened, his poor cigarette was beyond repair. He kneeled over and began to sob dramatically over the lost nicotine. _

"_NARUTO!" Sakura screamed. _

"_Eh? Sakura – I only have a few left! Why did you put out my ciggie! I needed that!" Naruto protested. _

"_MORON!" Sakura yelled as she slapped him. Naruto could feel his cheek growing red with the impact. _

"_What the fuck was that for?" Naruto growled, standing up, towering over the girl. _

_Sakura shivered. "You shouldn't be smoking! You know it could kill you, right?" she snapped. _

_Naruto rolled his eyes. "Sakura…" he began. _

"_What?"_

"_I've been smoking for four years. I'm going to die whether I stop smoking or not. Might as well get a little stress-relief every now and then, neh?" he said. _

_Sakura opened and closed her mouth, completely unprepared to hear the length of time in which he had been smoking. _

_Naruto took another cigarette out and lighted it. He took a slow drag and began to walk towards Kakashi. The silver-haired jounin stared at him stupidly for a second before chuckling with his curved eyes. _

"_Good for you, Naruto," he said, ruffling his students hair. _

_With the hand that wasn't holding the cigarette, Naruto had batted his hand off his head._

Naruto smiled at the softly fallen snow outside his window. _Good times, good times_, he thought as he recalled the moment.

He breathed the nicotine in, fogging up the window when he breathed out. It wasn't as though he cared. It was the Christmas season and everyone was out, around with families. He was happy the window was fogged up now. It meant that the lights and laughter and children and families were blocked from his view.

He didn't have to look out at them.

He didn't have to remember that he was an orphan or that Christmas was coming and no one would remember him – _yet again_ – on their lists.

He would be alone on Christmas, just like he always was.

Naruto knew that he should be used to this stuff by now, but he wasn't. He couldn't help hearing about how "magnificent" Christmas was from Sakura at practices or the people talking on the street.

Maybe the holiday was good for _them_ but it was horrible for Naruto. It was worse than horrible. He remembered when he had listened to Sakura and Ino talk about what they had gotten for Christmas when all of them were back in the academy. He had heard them go over long lists and realized just how alone he was.

_I'm not alone anymore_, he growled to himself in his head, using his wall to put out his cigarette. Anger and melancholy thoughts laced his feeling. Unconsciously, he tried to block them out, rage pouring through his veins.

_I'm not alone anymore! _He screamed this to himself but it wasn't working. There was a furious knocking on the door.

Naruto sighed softly, answering it. It was the landlady, Arasil-san.

"Uzumaki!" she growled, obviously annoyed at having to come out on Christmas Eve in order to yell at the fox-boy.

Naruto looked at her indifferently. What did the old bitch want this time? He didn't have the fucking time to deal with her! Didn't she realize he was sulking here!

"Yes?" he asked, letting a bored look cross his features. Arasil-san wouldn't stay long. She always was down to business with him. He was grateful though. She was the only person in this entire town that had allowed him to buy an apartment when he was eight. He had worked odd jobs for her in order to pay the rent and price, but he had lived here since then and had liked it, although the neighbors weren't the best in the world.

"You haven't paid your rent in three months!" she growled.

Naruto cursed in his mind. So _that _was what had been nagging him for a while. He knew he was forgetting something but he could never understand what it was and so he had brushed it off.

"I don't have the money," he murmured, knowing what was coming next.

"Then I'm sorry, Uzumaki, but I'll have to confiscate your property rights and say that you can no longer live here," Arasil-san said.

Naruto nodded. "I'll be out in an hour. I just want to pack up a few small momentos, all right?"

"One hour, Uzumaki," Arasil-san said. "And bring me your key when you leave. You know my apartment number."

Naruto nodded. Arasil left.

Slowly, the boy moved around his room, picking up things and stuffing them into his bookbag. His gothic/punk clothes, his ninja tools, the picture of Team Seven, several packs of ramen, a few lighters, drinks, and his extra pack of cigarettes. Finding everything had taken nearly forty-five minutes. Tying his hitae-ite securely around his brow, Naruto walked out of his apartment, closing the door and locking it for the last time.

He made his way towards the landlady's apartment, bringing his thin, tattered coat more closely around him. He hated the cold weather. It did nothing for him.

The blonde reached the landlady's door and knocked. Arasil answered it a moment later. He handed her the key and then shouldered his backpack. He turned and walked away without ever have saying a word.

---

Uchiha Sasuke was a sixteen-year-old genin. He and his teammates, Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura, had the holidays off from training and missions. It happened to most genins. He didn't mind it, having long ago gotten used to silence and things like that.

In all honesty, though, he was feeling a little lonely as he sat in his living room, reading a book and watching the snow fall outside the window. He was dressed pretty plainly. Warm dark green and blue flannel pants wrapped themselves around his legs. His feet were bare but they were covered by a thick navy-blue blanket. His shirt was a long-sleeved black turtle-neck with thumbholes that he had created in the sleeves with his teeth years ago.

Setting the book aside, Sasuke turned to the cold window panes and stared beyond the flurry of snowflakes. He wondered how Naruto was doing more than anyone else. Three months ago, Sasuke had learned about the boy who had hid himself behind a mask that no one had been able to penetrate – until the birthday of Naruto.

Now, Naruto and Sasuke had set up a bet of sorts and both were striving to win. They had to be themselves, without masks or protection. They were going to show the world who they were and why they should be acknowledged as so.

Uzumaki Naruto was no longer the demon child of Konohagakure.

Uchiha Sasuke was no longer the sole survivor of the Uchiha Massacre.

Through their bloody pasts, both boys had had a lot to confront and overcome. Most of it was done together. So when Sasuke had seen Naruto acting strangely on the 10th of October, he had immediately investigated.

What he found out scared the Uchiha a little. It wasn't so much as the knowledge he now held about the other boy – it was how good Naruto had carved his mask. He had wanted to be acknowledged, so he had made the best disguise for that to happen.

But they now had to burn their masks and move on into the world as human beings, rather than actors.

It was past time that they learned to live life instead of watch it through wooden eyes.

Sasuke shook his head. Why was he thinking about that dobe again? He didn't know. He had long since admitted to himself that Naruto meant something to him, but he wasn't sure entirely what.

Standing, the Uchiha went into the kitchen in order to make some tea. It was a cold winter night and some tea would be very helpful. Searching through the cabinets, he could not for the life of him find any tea.

Growling about how he didn't want to go outside in order to get some more, the Uchiha still dutifully put on his snowboots, scarf, hat, and jacket. He fixed his gloves onto his fingers and made sure his money was in his pocket before walking out the door into the cold winter night.

**-----**

The wind blew against him, harsh and bitter as Sasuke made his way to the store to buy some more tea. After all, he was one of the only idiots out here in this weather. When he reached the store, he was surprised to find that it was open. Obviously, the owner lived above it or else it would not be open.

Soon, Sasuke left the store and began to walk back towards his house. On the entire way there, he continuously muttered about how much he hated cold weather, wind and snow. Several times, one could not understand him because even his mutterings were making less and less sense.

A flash of yellow caught his eye from an alleyway. Not one to ignore his instincts, Sasuke walked over to the alleyway. As soon as he stepped inside it, he didn't feel the wind pounding on him or the snow trying to blind him. What he did see was his teammate and best friend huddled up next to the dumpster in the alley, a bag next to him and a cigarette in his hands.

"Naruto?" Sasuke breathed, trying to get words past his frozen and chapped lips.

The blonde looked up, not speaking at first. Sasuke studied the other boy's face in the silence. Naruto's skin was paler than normal, as though all the color had been sucked out of it. His eyes were slightly dimmer than Sasuke knew they should be and his lips were blue with cold.

Shaking slightly, so that he accidentally jabs his cigarette butt into his cheek, Naruto curses. On the second try at a drag, he succeeds. Breathing the smoke out, he looks up at Sasuke.

"What are you out here for?" was the first thing out of the blonde's mouth.

Sasuke held up the plastic bag with tea in it. "Needed tea. None left at my house," he said, taking a seat next to Naruto. "What are you out here for?"

Naruto shrugged. "Welcome to my humble abode," he growls out in a angry tone.

"What happened to your apartment?" Sasuke wanted to know. He had been to the blonde's apartment before and knew that the boy rented it out.

"Haven't had the cash to pay rent in three months. Landlady kicked me out," Naruto mumbled. He gave a dramatic wave of his hand. "It was her Christmas present to me. Oh what a wonderful holiday it has been." The blonde laughs, a hollow mirthless sound, before taking another intake of nicotine. It was the only thing keeping his frozen body at least somewhat warm. The fact that he had to move in order to get the cigarette to his mouth assured him that he didn't have frostbite yet.

"You were kicked out?" Sasuke asked.

"S'what I just said," Naruto grumbled. "Y'mind lending me some cash. I need a bottle of sake."

"What do you need that for, Naruto?" Sasuke wanted to know, not liking the sudden change in the mood of his best friend.

Naruto chuckled. "Warm me up – a good bottle of sake," he told Sasuke with a grin. "Come on, for a friend?" He gave the best impression of the puppy dog eyes that he could give when it felt like half of his face was frozen.

Sasuke couldn't help snickering at the look, because of how pathetic it was. "Come on, Naruto, let's go back to my house," he offered.

"Don't wanna," Naruto pouted. He took another inhale on his happy stick, not even letting his pout go away while he breathed in.

"And why not?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm no pity case," Naruto murmured, almost inaudible. However, Sasuke still managed to pick up what the boy was saying.

"You moron!" Sasuke growled, grabbing Naruto by the arm. With his other hand, Sasuke grabbed Naruto's bag and dragged him out of the alleyway, on the long trek back to the Uchiha Mansion.

---

When the two reached the Uchiha Mansion, Naruto reluctantly agreed with the sensible part of his mind that he was glad that Sasuke had found him. Unlike in that frozen alleyway, it was warm in here.

"Hold up," Sasuke said. He ran out of the room, coming back a few minutes later. "Would you like some tea or something?"

"Tea would be nice," Naruto answered, not really sure why he was being polite. For him, this Christmas really sucked and he wasn't entirely sure why he didn't feel angry as he should.

Maybe it was because Sasuke brought him back to the Uchiha's house in order to make sure that Naruto was safe. He didn't really know what the Uchiha was to him anymore, having admitted to himself that the boy was far more to him than a brother or a friend. But what did that leave?

A lover, perhaps?

No, the Uchiha was most definitely straight and so all of Naruto's plans to seduce the other boy would probably just piss Sasuke off and then Naruto would be curled up in that alleyway once again.

A few minutes later, Sasuke came back with the tea. He placed it on the table in the living room, telling Naruto to sit down. Taking the seat across from Naruto, the two claimed their cups and began to sip the hot drink slowly, both thinking about what to say to the other, yet neither knowing how.

Shrugging off his coat, Naruto looked around the room. "You have a nice place here," he said softly, drinking some more of the tea and letting the scalding liquid burn his tongue. He could barely feel it anyway, because he was so cold from staying curled up by a dumpster for the better part of two or three hours. He didn't even know how long it had been.

But he knew that he was lucky that Sasuke came by. The way the storm was going, it was doubtful as to whether or not he would last the night out there like he had hoped he would.

"Thanks," Sasuke said uncertainly. He wanted to ask Naruto so many things about so much, but he didn't know where to start. He wanted to show Naruto that the boy would always have a place here if he needed it, but the Uchiha wasn't sure how to say this.

Naruto sighed, staring down at his cup. The boy felt like crap at the moment. He had been kicked out of his apartment, was nearly frozen, and was finally at a warm place, but he doubted that Sasuke would let him stay here if the boy ever found out that either Naruto was gay or that Naruto was gay _and_ had a crush on the Uchiha.

"Um, did you…?" Naruto began at the same time that Sasuke said, "So, what are…?"

Both boys clammed up, a pink flush coming across their cheeks as they looked down at their cups of warm tea. Naruto looked at Sasuke, biting his lip.

"What were you going to say?" he wanted to know, staring at the Uchiha.

Sasuke shifted, trying to figure how to word his question. "I wanted to know," he started, and then stopped for a moment. He looked uncertain, anxious even.

"Yes?" Naruto prodded, even though he knew that Sasuke would most likely do the same to him if the conversation got around to his side of the unison break.

"What are you going to do from now on?" Sasuke asked bluntly, not really sure how else to say it.

Naruto stared at him, lost in thought. "In all honesty," he finally replied, placing the teacup down on the table, "I really don't know."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at this, urging the blonde to elaborate.

"It all happened so fast, and I was angry enough as it is, I suppose," the blonde said, not moving his cerulean blue gaze from Sasuke's. "I don't have any long term plans. My short term plans are… learning how to build a trashcan fire." The blonde grinned at his friend, who did share in his mirth.

Sasuke stood up. "Stay here," he told the blonde.

"What?"

"I said, 'stay here', dobe," Sasuke repeated. Naruto's blue eyes widened.

"Why?"

"It's a big house, and you have nowhere else to go," Sasuke told him as he gathered the cold teacups and took them back in the kitchen. This time, Naruto followed him, curious as to what the real reason was. Sasuke flashed the other boy a grin. "Besides, I wouldn't be much of a friend if I didn't offer you a place to stay."

Naruto shrugged at that comment. The entire idea of a friend was still slightly new to him. "What do you want in return?" he asked, suddenly.

Sasuke looked startled. "Nothing," he told the blonde.

Now it was Naruto's turn to look surprised. "What do you mean, you don't just let people stay in your house without making them do housework or anything like that."

"Dobe," Sasuke sighed. "That's not how a guest is supposed to be treated."

Naruto had a open look of puzzlement on his face. "Really?" he asked.

Sasuke nodded.

"Oh," was all the Uzumaki could think of how to reply to that.

Sasuke laughed and proceeded to show the boy where he would be rooming.

--

Naruto glanced at the clock. It was nearly eleven o'clock. Sasuke and him had adjourned for rest nearly an hour ago, and yet he still couldn't sleep. He didn't know why.

All of his thoughts revolved around the Uchiha that was only one room down from him, yet he didn't know _why_ they were doing this. Why couldn't his mind just let him sleep? Especially after a day like today!

After tossing and turning for about fifteen more minutes, Naruto slipped out of the bed. He moved stealthily across the wooden floors and into the Uchiha genius's room. He slid across the floor until he was standing next to Sasuke's bed.

Naruto just stood there, watching as his best friend slept. He felt peaceful here, watching the brunette in his slumber. Reaching down, without realizing it, Naruto brushed a bit of those bluish-black bangs out of Sasuke's face. He let a small smile come to his face.

Sasuke was beautiful when he slept. He had no guards up – not like the old Sasuke had. In fact, Naruto could say that he knew who Sasuke was.

Often, when they were on missions years ago, Naruto would wonder about who Sasuke really was after seeing him sleep without a mask. It wasn't until the day he turned sixteen that he found out what lay beyond the mask of the Uchiha.

He realized that he liked what he saw.

Unable to control himself, Naruto leaned down, almost in a trance. For a moment, he hovered above the Uchiha's lips, wondering if he should descend farther. His breath caressed Sasuke's lips. His mind finally shoved all reason out the window when his kissed the other boy.

It was clumsy, it was inexperienced, but to Naruto – it was also Heaven.

He had always wanted to be the one who stayed by Sasuke's side, even though he knew that there was a 99 chance of Sasuke being homophobic and completely straight. Naruto still hoped for that 1 that might be different. He still wished that he and Sasuke could live happily ever after.

Naruto didn't know how long he stood there after that kiss, bent a little bit over Sauske, lost deep within his thoughts, but he _did_ notice when the Uchiha began to wake up.

Startled, the blonde reeled backwards, gracefully landing on his bum, after knocking into a bookshelf. Several books fell off the shelf and landed on the floor.

Against the pale moonlight, Naruto saw Sasuke shoot up in bed, waking instantly at the noise. He mentally cursed himself for being so foolish as to come here.

"Naruto?" the Uchiha's voice cut through him, even though it wasn't said with anger.

"E-Eh?" Naruto answered, not entirely sure what to say, so random noises would work for now.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked.

Naruto blushed, glad of the darkness, and looked away. He wondered if now would be the perfect time to confess, but decided against it in the last second.

Sasuke slowly got up, his mind reeling. After all, it was nearly midnight on Christmas Eve and here he was awake because a certain blonde idiot had decided to come into his room and gracefully knock half of his bookcase onto the floor.

Not that the Uchiha was complaining, mind you.

"Naruto, is there a reason you're in here at half past eleven?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto bit his lip. "I… I was wondering…" he murmured softly, as though embarrassed (which he was).

"What?" Sasuke yawned.

_Think fast, Naruto, think very, very fast, _he thought to himself. He said the first thing that came to his head next. "How come people like Sakura are so hyped up about Christmas?" he asked. "What's so good about it? What makes tomorrow different from every other day?"

Sasuke looked at the boy in surprise. Slowly, he reached out his hand and turned on the light. Naruto blinked spots back from his vision at the newfound source of light. Once he got his vision under control again, he turned back to Sasuke, who wastrying to figure out the answer to his question.

Finally, he just went with the answer that he thought was truthful enough. "I don't know," he replied. "Guess they just like getting the presents and everything."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. He pulled his pack of Newports out of his pocket, noticing how he was down to three and cursed softly. Pulling out his lighter, he looked at Sasuke.

"You mind?" he asked.

Sasuke shook his head. Normally, he probably would have, but the boy had been through a rough day. It was only fair to give him a chance to smoke. Naruto smiled gratefully and lit the end of the happy stick, as he so called them. He placed the pocketdragon **_1 _**back where it belonged, alongside the cigarettes.

"But its got to be something more than that – or else everyone wouldn't be all excited about this time of year," Naruto persisted. Little did he know how many old memories he was stirring up in Sasuke's head. Naruto tended to do things without thinking. It wasn't like he wanted his best friend to feel depressed – it was more that he just _didn't_ know.

Scenes from when he was younger flashed through Sasuke's mind as he thought about a good answer for Naruto's question. One particular memory was of when his mother was tucking him in on Christmas Eve one year when he was about seven.

_"Mama?" he asked softly, in his childish little voice as he stared up at his mother. She was the most beautiful woman in the world to him. He was happy with her as a mother. She was good, kind and always made him smile. It was fun being around her, even though he acted as though some of the things she did were a bother. Secretly, he liked everything she did. _

_"Yes, Sasuke?" Maemi said. _

_"What's Christmas?" the young Sasuke asked. _

_Maemi smiled down at her son, taking a seat on the edge of his bed. "Christmas… Christmas, Chanukah, and all the other holidays, are a time for families to get together and share stories of what they have been doing for the entire year. It's a time when the snow falls and smothers everyone's troubles and worries beneath a thick blanket of beauty."_

_Sasuke smiled for a moment before a frown took over his features. "There's a kid in my class at the Academy who doesn't have a family," Sasuke said sadly. "What does he do for Christmas?"_

_Maemi only looked at him kindly. "I don't know," she told him. It had been the first time that Sasuke had heard anyone in the Uchiha Clan use that phrase. _

"My mom used to say that it was a time for families to get together in order to create new memories and forget about worries," Sasuke finally replied. He sighed heavily, trying to control his emotions.

"Really?" Naruto said darkly. "Well, that explains a lot of things then." He paused for a moment. "I suppose only the families get the 'no worries' deal, eh?"

"Naruto…?" Sasuke asked. He really wanted to know – so he was going to ask his question. He hoped that Naruto wouldn't take offense to it.

"What?" Naruto snapped back.

"What did you always do for Christmas?" he asked.

Naruto was about to snipe something at his friend when he fully comprehended the question. No one had ever asked him that before, though they had asked plenty of other people. It was as though no one ever cared about what Naruto did on the family day of the year. After all, he had no family, so why should he do anything?

Shaking his head, he wondered what he did at Christmas himself. He wasn't entirely sure.

Suddenly, he spoke, after contemplating his answer for a few minutes. "Mourn," the blonde finally responded.

"Mourn?" Sasuke wanted to know. That was definitely a strange answer.

"I never had anyone to be there for me on Christmas, but I heard about how great it was and how you were supposed to get presents and everything and I had never received a single present. So, I figured this was because I was an orphan. Obviously, the village – or country – or just _somebody_ had created something else to exclude me from. I would mourn, because I would see all the happy families and I've never had one."

Naruto laughed quietly to himself. A mirthless, hollow sound that one makes when one is trying to control one's emotions. Sasuke would probably hate him for being selfish. The small voice in the back of Naruto's head was laughing at him, saying that Sasuke would kick him out into the snow and hate him forever. Naruto shivered involuntarily. He didn't want Sasuke to hate him. He didn't want that tiny voice to be right.

Two strong arms wrapped around his lithe form, startling him. He widened his eyes as he noticed that Sasuke was hugging him.

"Sasu…Sauske?" he asked softly, his voice barely audible.

Sasuke didn't say anything as he held Naruto. Naruto wasn't sure if he was grateful for that as he leaned against the other boy. It was comfortable in this embrace, it was right. It felt good being here and Naruto never wanted to leave. Absently, he put his cigarette out on the floor, but he promised himself in the back of his mind that he would clean up the ash that would be there.

Closing his eyes, the blonde rested his head against Sasuke's chest. Sasuke only tightened his embrace in response to that.

"Naruto…" Sasuke murmured. Naruto nearly laughed as he felt the vibrations of Sasuke's voice against the boy's chest.

"Hmm?" he voiced.

Sasuke didn't say anything more and Naruto didn't care. He knew that Sasuke felt at ease around him and that was more important to him than any holiday or present or limb.

The two stayed like that for hours, neither moving from that position, even after the midnight bell tolled twelve times from the tower in which it lay. A new day was here, but they were in the same position, wrapping their arms around each other and dispelling loneliness from their atmosphere.

They would not be lonely right now. They would not be who they were before.

They could be happy now – even on a day like Christmas. Even though they were not family, they shared love. A common love, from a bond of friendship, but that's all they needed in order to dispel the loneliness that both felt tenfold on a wintry Christmas morn.

_Kyuubi-kun's Korner!_

**_(1)_**_Pocketdragon (n.) what me and my friends call a lighter. _

_YAY! I FINALLY FINISHED IT! Hi! It's 9:53pm on Christmas Eve and I'm done this damned fic. I've been writing this fic since November… and its not the best one and I think the ending was a bit rushed but I don't care – its done! That's all I care about. MOO!_


End file.
